GAME STORY: Flames Rookies 6, Oilers Rookies 3

RED DEER, AB - Adam Ruzicka's breakaway goal in the third period was the game-winner, as the Oilers managed to come back from a three-goal first-period deficit but were ultimately topped by their provincial rivals 6-3 on Wednesday.
Evan Polei - the former Red Deer Rebel - notched a goal and assist while Luke Esposito and Cameron Hebig rounded out the rest of the scoring for Edmonton.
Olivier Rodrigue manned the twine for the first two periods then Stuart Skinner took over in the third.

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Despite dropping a second game to the Flames this week, Bakersfield Condors Head Coach Jay Woodcroft felt his club manufactured a solid performance in Red Deer.
"I thought we did some good things in the first period," he began. "We established our forecheck, hunted down their D and it led to a lot of offensive zone chances for us."
Edmonton - seeking redemption following Sunday's 7-3 thumping to the Flames - jumped out the gate with gusto on neutral turf in front of fans from both ends of the province.
No more than two minutes into the game, Kailer Yamamoto found himself a point-blank opportunity after the puck banged off the glass and bobbled towards the winger but at the last second hopped over his blade.
The top line of Yamamoto, David Gust and Ryan McLeod continued applying pressure throughout the period, at one point manifesting a three-shot shift which ended with the Oilers Rookies out-shooting their opponents 6-1.
Calgary managed to avert any danger, notching the first three tallies of the night in succession.
The club opened the scoring on their second shot. Dmitry Zavgorodniy gained a stride on Dmitri Samorukov, moving from forehand to backhand as he cut to the net to beat Rodrigue.
Flames forward D'Artagnan Joly made it 2-0 Calgary at 14:23, slamming home a puck that found his stick in front of the Oilers goal.

Despite the Oilers continuing to carry much of the play, Zavgorodniy notched his second of the period after another bounce - similar to the bounce off the glass Yamamoto missed earlier in the period - found his blade. He caught Rodrigue with a quick snap, giving Calgary a three-goal lead.
"They (the Flames) were opportunistic early but I thought they had the bulk of the play in the third period when it was tied," said Woodcroft of the Oilers Rookies opponent.
The Oilers fourth line of Esposito, Ryan Van Stralen and Polei managed to get Edmonton on the board late. The three connected on a nice passing play, punctuated by a zinging backhander from Esposito.

With the comeback cued late in the first period, the Oilers Rookies set out to complete it in the second. And they did.
Hebig cut the deficit to one at 11:58 of the stanza, firing a wrist shot far corner from the right dot.
Then, it was Polei's turn to say hello to his fans the best way he could. The physical winger popped in a rebound off a Samorukov shot with under six minutes to play in the frame, bringing the crowd to their feet amid raucous applause.
"All these fans out here supported me for four years and it was so much fun playing in front of them again," said Polei. "It feels really good to get a goal in front of them."
With a new playing field set up for the third, the Flames Rookies were able to add three in succession to put the game to bed.
Ruzicka split Skinner with a sneaky 5-hole slip then Glenn Gawdin and Brett Pollock lit the lamp on consecutive power plays.
"I thought we had the bulk of the play in the second period then ran out of gas and made a couple individual errors in the third," said Woodcroft.
With Oilers Rookie Camp finished, the bench boss evaluated his players as they look towards Oilers Main Camp.
"The one thing we wanted them to do was approach Rookie Camp with the mindset to get better every day," said Woodcroft. "It wasn't easy. Testing was very difficult, we had two intense practices, we played three games in four days and travelled to two different cities to do that.
"A lot of them should feel good about heading into Main Camp."
Oilers Main Camp gets under way Thursday at Rogers Place. Stay tuned to EdmontonOilers.com for complete coverage.